Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Confederation Cup 2013: Stephen Keshi Spoke after lashing Tahiti

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi said he was relieved his side had avoided
any further injuries after they thrashed minnows Tahiti 6-1 in their
opening game at the Confederations Cup in Belo Horizonte.

Forwards
Victor Moses, Kalu Uche and Emmanuel Emenike were all ruled out by
injury before the tournament, while midfielder Ogenyi Onazi missed
Monday's game with a knee problem.

Keshi hopes the Lazio player
will be available for Thursday's encounter with Uruguay, which is likely
to play a significant role in determining whether or not Nigeria
progress from Group B.

"There are no (new) injuries to the players, because I've already lost four players," he said.

"With
all this journey we've been having, arriving yesterday (Sunday) morning
at four o'clock, I'm just happy there's no major problems concerning
injuries."

Nigeria's preparations were disrupted by a dispute
over bonus payments that meant the squad did not arrive until 36 hours
before their first game.

Speaking ahead of the game, captain
Vincent Enyeama had revealed that the disagreement remained unresolved,
but Keshi said that was not the case.

"The issue of the bonuses
has been settled. Nothing is holding us back anymore and all we need to
do now is play football," he said.

Nnamdi Oduamadi, who scored a
hat-trick for the African champions at Estadio Mineirao, said the
players had put the dispute behind them.

"I'll say it's a big
relief now, due to the stuff we had with the delay and missing the
flights," said the 22-year-old forward, who spent the 2012-13 season on
loan at Italian second-tier side Varese from AC Milan.

"This
victory will give us a big morale. We'll talk in the group now, do
everything the coach says, and we'll see what happens in the second
game."
Nigeria's victory took them above Spain on goal difference at the top of Group B.